Ed Sobey, an oceanographer who has sailed across the Pacific, removes his shoes before entering the Keough home. Explorers came to Saltspring Island from near and far bringing their stories of discovery:

+ The mail carrier/speleologist who discovered the second deepest alpine cave;

+ The marine geologist who discovered sponge reefs in British Columbian waters;

+ The nautical archaeologist who discovered a Civil War submarine in Panama;

+ The molecular geneticist who leads expeditions on Darwin's route around South America;

+ The mammalogist who drove a Land Rover across Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia;

+ The volcanologist who witnessed the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980;

+ The social scientist who paddled 3,500 km on rivers from Alberta to the Arctic Circle;

+ The mountain climber who lost both legs after being pinned for two days under a one-ton boulder in Australia;

Linda Sosbee helps with the homemade soup. + The woman who was the first to climb 20 peaks in the Canadian Rockies;

+ The commander of the first submarine to cross under the Arctic icecap;

+ The underwater archaeologist who mapped a great river cave in Laos;

+ The marine ecologist who discovered the relationship between the salmon and the endangered spirit bear;

+ The biologist who led the first raft descent of the Ravens Throat River in the Mackenzie Mountains; and

+ Many more.

After a meal of homemade soup and artesan bread, our hosts, Rosemarie and Pat Keough, gathered us in the great room of their home on the first evening of the four-day event. After a few announcements (no shoes in the house, no drinks outside the dining room, location of showers), Rosemarie introduced Valdy (born Valdemar Horsdal).

Valdy has been part of the fabric of Canadian pop and folk music for over 34 years. He's a singer, guitarist, and songwriter who catches the small but telling moments that make up life.

Valdy, an award-winning Canadian songwriter, performs for the explorers. With a half million copies of his 13 albums, two Juno Awards, seven Juno nominations, and four Gold albums to his credit, Valdy continues to record and travel widely. Valdy and his wife Kathleen live on Salt Spring Island.

For his finale encore, Valdy played his popular, Play Me a Rock and Roll Song , the bitter-sweet memory of when he found himself. With Valdy's last chord, the lights dimmed, and moonlight filled the room. Slowly, sock-clad explorers walked through shadows of walruses and cave bears on the way to their rooms.

(Next week: Would you rather be a whale or a submarine?)